On the Record: The Hidden Cameras, Against Me!, Angelique Kidjo and more

Even if queerness and emo aren’t welcome in your punk music, Against Me!'s Laura Jane Grace (far right) is a hero of in-your-face resiliency in an overtly masculine world.

The Hidden CamerasAGE
(Evil Evil/Motor Music)Sounds like: Joel Gibb’s one of the coolest and smartest queer musicians on the face of this earth; his first in five years is the best outstretched EP of the year (snaps).Free association: It’s true—he’s heavily quoted calling his music “gay church folk.”For fans of: Perfume Genius x Pet Shop Boys + Xiu Xiu, Sufjan when he comes out, art gays.

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial OrchestraFuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything
(Constellation)Sounds like: The seventh from the constantly-morphing cousin of Godspeed You! You Black Emperor delivers bigtime on their dark, rich dirges of controlled chaos.Free association: They take themselves a little less seriously than GY!BE, so they’re better.For fans of: Nirvana/Deerhoof/Minutemen x Spiritualized, Explosions in the Sky, 10-minute tracks.

QuiltHeld in Splendor
(Mexican Summer)Sounds like: One of the most refreshing bands of the 2010s delivers the promising sophomore that they had in ‘em, a beautifully weird n’ trippy opus of psych rock.Free association: Sometimes it feels more ‘70s than the predecessors they clearly admire.For fans of: Byrds/Mamas & Papas x Espers + Mirah w/ Islands, San Francisco, ponchos and LSD.